Photo Essay: Real BBQ and More in Shreveport

20×49.com recently visitedReal BBQ and More, a Shreveport barbecue joint run by owner and pitmaster Harvey Clay. As we havepreviously reported on this blog, Clay, who is a native of Midland, Tx., is obsessive about barbecue. Clay agreed to let us film and photograph him at work, and sat down and spoke with us for a while about his “slow and low” style of cooking. Look for a short video chronicling our visit soon over atthe Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau’s Youtube channel. In the meantime, enjoy this brief photo essay featuring beautiful images by photographer Jim Noetzel.

Real BBQ and More owner and pitmaster Harvey Clay. “I’ve been cooking for 44 years,” Clay told 20×49.com. “I started cooking when I was away at college, because they didn’t have any barbecue in Madison, Wisconsin.”

Wood burns in the smoker box at Real BBQ and More. “We use pecan wood, a little oak and, when we can get it, we use a little bit of hickory. Not a lot of hickory, but a little. We cook slow, slow, slow with a lot of smoke.”

Harvey Clay checks the progress of several racks of ribs at Real BBQ and More in Shreveport.

Harvey Clay slices a brisket that has been smoked for 12-14 hours at around 200 degrees. “If my grill gets to 250 degrees, I’m probably going to put some cold water on it, because I don’t want it to do that. I want it to be slow. I cook like I walk, and that’s slow.”

A slice of brisket on Harvey Clay’s cleaver at Real BBQ and More in Shreveport.

Sausage is sliced at Real BBQ and More in Shreveport. “Our sausage is a proprietary product, which is made from brisket. We send the seasonings out to West Texas, where they grind the brisket into a sausage link,” Clay said. “The reason that we make brisket sausage is because I don’t like the junk that goes into commercial sausage. Some people do, but that’s not what we serve here.”